Sunset in the Coconino National Forest, looking northeast toward Sedona, AZ, 4/17/15

Friday, March 19, 2010

Garage Sale Days

It's a garage sale weekend.  We are starting to clear out 20 years of collecting.  Both hubby and I are good at collecting.  And, we have had plenty of opportunities in years past.  Before John hurt his back and knees, we use to buy abandoned storage units at auction, keep what we liked and sell the rest to make enough money to buy more storages.  We had perpetual garage sales back then.  It was hard physical work, but it was also fun.  Each storage unit was like Christmas; we never knew what we'd find once we got into it ... sometimes a dud and sometimes a treasure.  And so it went for the first 10 years of our marriage.  Needless to say, we now have a basement, attic, spare bedroom, and a huge 2-story garage full of stuff. 

So, now we are selling off many of our squirreled-away treasures.  I'm packing boxes full of things to sell before I leave, and John will be bringing them out for garage sales throughout the spring and summer.

It's time to de-clutter, time to pare down, time to move on.  Our plan is to sell our home in another year and move closer to John's parents in the south Puget Sound area.  I will dearly miss my beloved Fall City home.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I like to cook for "events" ... and, being half Irish, St. Patrick's Day was the perfect excuse.

John & I enjoyed some Irish Soda Bread, Irish Stew, and a pint of the black stuff.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Starting to Pack

Yesterday I started packing up the car.  Although I'm not leaving for about 3 weeks, I wanted to make sure I have all I need now, so there's time to deliver more, if necessary.  Plus, I'm so ready to get going and packing helps to satisfy that urge a bit.   Here are before and after pictures of the hatch area ... everything now tied down for travel.


Now I need to do a bit of sewing -- curtains, screens, mattress pads.

It was a nice day with the flowering cherry tree "snowing" blossoms while packing the car.  It was a bit frustrating to keep picking petals out of the car ... but, too beautiful to feel the frustration for long.  Here are some pictures I took a couple of days ago.



Monday, March 15, 2010

Tunes for the Tour

   Making music is good for my soul.  I use to play the guitar -- self-taught , folksy, simple chording.  It was a wonderful way to end a long day around the campfire.  I'd love to take my guitar on this trip, but it'd take up too much room. Instead, I'm going to learn the harmonica ... I've practiced a bit already and think it will fit the bill.

   In my guitar playing days, I wrote a few songs.  Here are the words to a couple of them that seem especially appropriate for this journey.

Rock-A-By Theme (c) 1988
(A little lullaby written around a dying campfire,
High Country Outfitters / Camp Yahoo.)

And the trees gently sway
In the wind's lilting tune
In the stars' steady gaze
In the light of the moon

 And the earth lifts her voice
 In a rock-a-by theme
 In her just for now way
 At the gate of a dream

Women in the Wilderness (c) 1995
(Written as a theme song for the Women in the Wilderness Camp and Workshops, Washington Outfitters and Guides Association.)

Pull up your boots
   Strap on your chaps
Throw on your slicker
   And pull down your hat
'Cuz we're ...
(Chorus)
Women in the wilderness
   In days of olde we came out west
Now we do our dog gone best
   To be women in the wilderness

1. The legacy of those before
   Bring us home to back country's door
Walkin' through will make us more
   Women in the wilderness

2. Ridin' heard and cookin' grub
   Packin' mules and givin' love
Beddin' with the stars above
   Women in the wilderness

3. Packin' in is goin' home
   Trees and hill beckon 'till we roam
Rain and wind and sun the poem
   Women in the the wilderness

4. Listen daughters now take heed
   Mountain, meadow, streams we need
Entrust to you this precious seed
   Of women in the wilderness

   It's hard for me to believe so much time has passed since I've been to the base camp where these songs were written.  It's where I fell in love again with being in the back country (volunteering as a trail cook).

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

A Prius Event

What an eventful day.  On my way home from getting the Prius' maintenance and oil change, I'm in stop and go traffic.  All of the sudden I hear an ominus KLUNK KLUNK KLUNK, metal on metal.  My first thought was, oh no, I ran over something.  I drove a few more feet, KLUNK KLUNK and scraping metal.  Did something drop from underneath my car? 

Carefully, I open the door into the slow moving traffic to see what I could see.  There it was, a large long metal pipe sticking out from behind my car.  How could this happen?  I just got my car serviced.  Did they forget to tighten something up?  What am I to do?

I get back in the car to call AAA, explain that I'm blocking a lane of traffic and could you please send a tow truck as soon as possible.   A knock on the window.   Another flustered woman "Did you drive over the drive line?"  She was the driver of the disabled bus several hundred feet in front of me.

I don't know if I should feel relieved or not.  So, that big chunk of metal is not from my car; that's good.  But, did it cause damage to important stuff underneath it?  Evidently, in the stop and go traffic, I was close enough to the truck in front of me that I didn't see it.  The truck was high enough off of the ground to clear it, my Prius was not.

The bus driver and I exchanged insurance information.  The tow truck driver arrived and pulled out the drive line out from under the car.  He paitently waited while I took a couple of pictures before towing my car to our mechanic.  That's where my Prius is now, ready to be jacked up and inspected for damage.

Poor Prius.

3/10 Update:  All is well.  Just a few scratches on the frame railing.  Yeah!

Monday, March 8, 2010

One More Month

Today I made more preparations for my trip.  I'm feeling a growing sense of anticipation and amazement.  Can you believe it?  I'm going on a cross-country car trip!  Gratitude.

Car washed and vaccuumed: check ...
Windows tinted: check...
Small containter of olive oil: check ...
Hair cut: check ...
New hiking pants: check ...

Looked for, but yet to find:
   A good deal on Energizer AAA Lithium Batteries (check on 3/9)
   6' of silver plastic chain, 1" or smaller links (check, found on 3/9)

Tomorrow the Prius RV gets some regular maintenance and an oil change ... (and check, 3/9)

If all goes as planned, one month from today I'll be on the road.